Recent Tasting Notes

Mmm, apricot. Real apricot. Apricot compote. The scent and flavour of the tea reminds me of baby food, oddly enough. Apparently pureed apricots and strawberries were my favourite desserts when I was a baby, and admittedly, when I got food poisoning a few years ago and stuck to soft foods for a couple weeks, I bought some to try. It was very tasty, actually! This specific apricot flavour here reminds me of that more than anything else.

The base is smooth, and as the tea cools, the apricot comes out even more. My mom absolutely loves this, being a huge fan of apricot and all. She commented that it is an undeniable apricot and nothing at all like peach, which sometimes apricot or mango tea can end up tasting like.

What, first tasting note? But, but, it’s lychee and rose. Who wouldn’t want to try that? This sample didn’t last long once I opened it, especially since my mom wanted to try it too. The dry leaf is very fragrant, with an equal balance of fresh lychee and rose.

I only tried it hot but I thoroughly enjoyed it, particularly once it cooled down a bit. Just like in the scent, the flavours of the rose and lychee were well-balanced. I’m sure I would have been able to easily identify both notes if I didn’t know what was in here. It reminds me of a bubble tea (without milk) that I recently experienced: rose black tea with lychee jelly and boba. It was pretty awesome, except they put too much sugar in it. I’m sure this would taste similar if I were to ice it and add sugar.

Would I repurchase? I’m probably thinking so. I’m also curious about their straight up lychee blend now, and will have to pick that up next time I order, which will most likely be when our Canadian dollar makes a recovery.

Thank you Ost for this sample. This tea is strong and malty. It is fairly tasty but not spectacular. I am glad to have tried it but don’t think I would buy it. It does have a nice kick for the morning. I let it get somewhat cold as I was busy doing other things instead of drinking it. It might have been better had it not gotten colder.

I brewed this once with approx 3 tsp leaf iin an 18oz teapot with 200 degree water for 3 min.

Flavors: Malt

Preparation

Sipdown. I wouldn’t buy more but I actually quite enjoyed my last cup. I made a larger amount in a Nordic mug and let the water cool quite a bit before steeping. Then after steeping it, it sat for quite a while whilst I prepared supper. By the time I got to it, it was a little warmer than lukewarm and it ended up having a much better balance. More orange which blended very well with the slightly smoky base.

Initially nervous about the smoky base, I almost didn’t get this. It was the blood orange that changed my mind. And I’m glad I did! The dry leaf smells glorious. Very heavy on the orange, not artificial or overly sweet. I appreciate that it is not nearly as smoky as other smoky teas, but it’s ultimately not my thing regardless. Leave the smoke at the door in this household.

While the orange is there, I just feel like I can’t appreciate it as much with the smokiness in the way. That said, if you like smoky teas, check it out. Even people who don’t care for smokiness like me may think this is alright.

Just so you know the tea is not smoky like a Laspang Souchong – but it is a Chinese Black base with a hint of smokiness – as compared to an Indian or other black tea base that would have a maltier or fruitier base.

O Canada, we stand on guard for thee. Maple and nuts are always a good idea. The dry leaf smells like brittle, so much like brittle, with that classic slightly bitter note from walnut. This makes me want a handful of fresh walnuts. So delicious.

The steeped tea smells like liquid nut brittle, as well. I’ve actually had this a couple times already and have noticed that you really need to be careful with the temperature of the water, lest the tea can come out rather bitter, even if you let the water cool for a while. So I really let it cool before steeping, perhaps a little too much, but it came out the best this time around. No bitterness from the green base, which is slightly vegetal but not too domineering.

I’m not sure how I feel about the flavour of the tea, though. It’s sweet and syrupy, but not in a cloying or artificial way. However, the nuttiness is a little bitter. Not fresh or roasty. I’m sure others out there would really like this, but I personally prefer The Tea Girl’s Walnut Truffle over this, which works for me since it’s more accessible.

This was the last tea from The American Tea Room that I had to try.
I was really looking forward to this one and I totally got disappointed. :(
When I opened the bag it didn’t smell like vanilla, in fact, it smelled like chocolate.
So that was kinda weird.
The tea itself tastes extremely fake. Reminds me of Harney’s Vanilla Black tea which was really bad too…Oy…
This one is not for me :(

Drinking this tea makes me feel like I’m in England, despite never being there before. So what do I know! But the base is rich and the rose is supremely soft. However, I would have liked more rose. It’s barely there.

Personally, I’d sooner take more of Teavivre’s Rose Dian Hong than this. That one is maltier (which is a personal preference) and the rose is more prominent.

For real, me too. I’m currently not ‘home’ but when I get back I can check to see if I have any left. I think I have a packet left, so I could always save it for you? But I did notice that after a year, it has lost some of its flavour in the rose department.

Oh my word, this smells fantastic. You frequently hear people comparing the aroma of chocolate mint teas to After Eight/Andes mints, and I’m famous for that, but this is seriously like an amped up version of the After Eight filling. The filling. That is just it. The cocoa takes a major backseat here, in both aroma and flavour. The icy cool peppermint candy cane-like note is by far the most prominent, followed by a whisper of cocoa. Smelling this instantly makes me crave a York peppermint patty or After Eight.

Don’t get me wrong, it’s yummy. Very refreshing and soothing, but I was hoping for more chocolate. The base here also appears to be a roastier green, which I love, but those roasty notes, that I’m positive the base has, are buried far underneath.

Too bad I don’t have my cacao husks with me, because I’m sure adding some to this would be awesomesauce. Maybe I’ll be brave next time and mix in a bit of Fry’s cocoa.

Sipdown numéro deux. I liked this the best without any additives. Smooth base and flavour, although the vanilla flavour itself isn’t my favourite kind of vanilla, you know? Nevertheless, I am looking forward to trying the rest of the samples.

It’s Vanilla Noir time. The aroma of the dry leaf is an undeniable vanilla, which isn’t surprising since ATR was quite generous with the vanilla bean. I detect a hint of smokiness from the base, so for my own selfish reasons, I’m hoping that won’t be reflected in the flavour.

The cup I had last night, without any additives, was surprisingly smooth with minimal smokiness. The vanilla doesn’t quite have the dimension that I like. It has an alcoholic quality to it rather than a warm, gourmand one.

This morning, I went all out and added some half and half, coconut sugar, and a touch of pure vanilla extract. Eh. Granted, I almost never add sugar to anything, except to chai, but it doesn’t enhance the vanilla in any way. Maybe just stick with half and half, or nothing at all.

I wouldn’t buy more but it’s nice to be able to experiment with these very generously sized samples. I just weighed this one, accounting for the packaging, and the sample incidentally weighs 15g. Pretty awesome. You can easily make 3-4 regular-sized cups with that.

This has totally become the replacement on my shelf for DavidsTea’s Movie Night. Like I’m totally putting Movie Night on the sale list when I finally put it up, which should be sometime this week. Finally put this tea in a nice green double lid tin from Teavana that Is really pretty. Unless they change how they make this tea, this one is here to stay! Or unless my taste buds radically change. But I pretty much love everything about it. Even the slightly roasty, grassy green tea base flavor. It’s just that good.
After we picked up my boyfriend from the airport like two weeks ago I think it was? Yeah something like that… After that we went to The American Tea Room. Picked up 2oz of this one and a few samples. By far this is still my favorite so far from the other samples I tried. Oy. I don’t get how I adore this one tea but then all the others are all bad tasting to me. Like I really don’t get it. :S Oh well.
I will not question!
This one is always a winner! :D

So over-steeped this one twice today on accident. xD
First one was a major over-steep, but the second time was just by like a minute.
It definitely tasted more walnut-y than anything. Was still sweet and I could still taste the maple, but wasn’t as good as usual. Still better than Movie Night though xD Even over-steeped-haha! XD
Today has been such a miserable day physically and I barely slept last night so slept a lot in the late morning. But I really need to do stuff, and I hate days where I don’t do things, so trying desperately to wake up. Even with all the drugs I’m jacked up on xD
Sooo there will be many tasting notes today because I’m using this day as the day to catch up on samples and stay awake and somewhat productive even though my pain levels are soooo off the wall :(

Important Notice
Also, on a side note, I’ve decided to name my sloth London, because that’s where Ben, my boyfriend and I first met-on Christmas day to be exact. :)

This tea is totally replacing the Movie Night from DavidsTea that has been a staple in my collection. I wish that DavidsTea had never changed that tea, or that my taste buds never changed!But this tea is basically everything Movie Night used to be-sooo this is a win! A staple in my collection…till they change it too xD

Also, if anyone sees this, please just know that my health has been really bad lately and it’s not calming down and this weekend is going to be even worse and I’ve had like tons of family drama over the last two months on top of it all—so I’ve kinda been MIA from Steepster….So to all the people who are waiting for me to reply to your message please please don’t be upset! Things are just really bad right now, and I I’m doing the best I can! I’m planning on being on here more consistently though, like…I’m very determined. I have been rather active on Instagram and FB, but just not really here. Probably because I have been drinking most of the same teas and I’ve not been feeling well enough to drink as much as I used to :(
So yeah, I’m sorry for being a lousy person to talk to lately. :( It has nothing to do with any of you-so far most of the people I’ve met, and at least the ones that are waiting for me to reply to their last message have been great people so far! So please know it’s not to do with you. Things just aren’t the best right now. And I am really behind on everything. And I really am trying to catch up but also trying to pace myself…whiich is rather hard when your bad health makes everything go super slow. xD I’m not usually such a slacker haha! But oy. I just needed to apologize to all of you. Please forgive me if I’ve offended anyone! Those haven’t been my intentions at all! On instagram those of you who follow me are so sweet, the comments you leave on some of my posts. Oh my goodness, some of them really brighten up my day. This is a wonderful community for the most part. And I’m sad I’m not really being in it that much lately. Only really through Instagram. So yeah…Hope I haven’t offended anyone!
I am doing the best I can right now! I hope the rest of you guys are doing okay! And for all those who follow me on Instagram and write sweet comments on there-thank you for helping to brighten my day. (: You guys are awesome! (:

i’m TOTALLY offended that you’re taking care of yourself instead of posting tea tasting notes and writing back to things here… totally giggling don’t be silly lady. You do what you need to do. Nice to see you here from time to time but taking care of yourself comes first :)

Sil, your comment definitely made me smile the most. Hey and don’t you worry, I haven’t even opened those two bags of lemon chiffon from DTT yet. So I’m keeping the tea as fresh as I can before sending it to you. :P It’s nice seeing you on instagram though. So many Steepster peeps are on there now I don’t feel totally disconnected! I love your pics, and thank you for all the kind comments you ever post on my pics, Sil. Every little thing means so much to me! (:

Fjellrev well, I’m pretty sure I’ve offended definitely a few people with a thread I made on here once like what…6 months ago maybe or later? XD Like so many people here were so pissed off, including a tea company that I will never again order from haha! Soo pissing people off is a talent of mine at times. xD Glad that I’ve not done that to you…yet! XD Well hopefully never because you seem to be a great person and I enjoy our short conversations on tasting notes. :P
At some point if you want, we should totally talk through PM, so far you’ve seemed like a fantastic person to interact with. Either that or when I’m well enough again we should set up a swap! :D

And Maddy Barone, thank you for your kind words….My parents more prepared myself to work myself to the ground and I have the mentality to stay on top of everything. I never really prepared for having health issues that have slowed me down this much and everything! But thank you for being understanding. I need to remember to take care of myself sometimes! Well…a lot of times xD

Also, since teleportation hasn’t been invented or anything yet can I please just give you 4 all a big virtual hug for being so kind? Seriously, you people are so very kind and thoughtful in your words. Thank you so so much. I love you all in a non-creepy way! XD

Ohhh I’m so behind on tasting notes, it’s so bad! XD
Had this earlier this week…Oh my goodness, seriously trumps DavidsTea’s version of Oh Canada. Like this is one of the ultimate maple/syrup teas! UGHHH!!
Sooo good!
Since the last batch of Oh Canada from DavidsTea tasted really off and not the same at all, I think I am going to kick that one out of my collection to have this one instead. This one is a must try for anyone interested in maple/ syrup-y teas! :D

So recently I found out that The American Tea Room has a shop in Beverly Hills, not far from UCLA. So since my week has been horrible and I had to go up to UCLA today for the second time this week, my mum said she would take me to there. I have only tried one of their teas, so I don’t really know what I was expecting. XD But the people were surprisingly nice and helpful. One lady that talked to us was very honest about the tea and I felt like she wasn’t just trying to make it sound amazing so I’d buy it. I didn’t buy that much, and plus a lot of their teas are pretty cheap, so that was also great! And they let me pick out a free sample, and it was a big sample too. xD
This was definitely the nicest tea store I have been to so far! But I don’t think I’d end up liking tons of their teas anyway. Mainly because I’m picky haha
But anyway. Picked up 2oz of this one because it smelled amazing.
I was not expecting it to be good at all. I was expecting it to be grassy since it was a green tea base. But it totally proved me wrong.
Brewed it up when I got home.
It’s so maple-y and sweet. There’s so much caramel and syrup flavor in it. It’s ridiculously good. I was not expecting that at all!
It tastes a lot like DavidsTea’s Movie Night, well when I first had tried it because it was so sweet and kinda tasted like caramel corn. But the last time I bought that tea it tasted weaker and more apple flavor…so I am thinking that they changed something in it, which has made me pretty sad because it was one of my favorites before.
But now I feel better because I have this one which is just as delicious and sweet, and it really wasn’t all that expensive-so this tea was definitely a win for me!!
Not sure how the other two teas I got will be, but this one was definitely worth checking out.
If i had to have a complaint it would be that in the second steep I could taste the green tea base more, it was a little grassy, but not too much. Movie Night barely has any green tea in it, even that’s like the base of it. Movie Night has decorations and stuff, but this one was mainly just green tea and some nuts. So I can’t expect it not to be a little grassy. xD Anyway, really fantastic tea! I would recommend if you ever try anything from there! :D

I have only ever tried their Brioche and I loved it! If you were a fan of Teavana’s long gone Almond Biscotti, it tastes just like that. I can’t wait to try more of their teas! When you were in the shop, was there a minimum amount you had to purchase? Could you buy sample sizes?

Oh, yeah that was the first tea I tried from them ever! :P Was decent. Well they said that the sample would be enough for a pot of tea…or a cup of tea…And then they were putting the tea into the pouch and it ended up being way more than that. xD Maybe like half an ounce? It was a pretty big sample haha! The samples are 4 dollars in store and online. (:

Sipdown! Thanks again to ATR for passing down this sample to me. While it’s not my thing, I can assure jasmine lovers that this would definitely be up for your alley. You get quite the jasmine pop with every sip.

Thank you so much for the sample, American Tea Room! Just a note: I’m not a fan of jasmine teas. In perfumery, it’s finicky enough as it is, and only care for it when it’s masterfully blended with notes such as vanilla, coconut, or vetiver. Otherwise, jasmine is way too powerful. This also applies to tea. There has to be a lot of other things in the leaf in order to calm down that overbearing floral.

The dry leaf is overwhelmingly jasmine. My mom couldn’t believe how floral a tea can smell. I followed the directions and steeped it for three minutes, and let the water cool quite a bit, maybe even more than suggested. While the tea isn’t too bitter, it’s just so, well, jasminey! My mouth is filled with astringent jasmine, which does go on the bitter side as it cools.

Funny how I love florals, both in perfumery and cuisine, but jasmine is more often than not an exception. No dice, jasmine.

Sad sip down. I actually really enjoyed this one and glad I picked it up despite being wary of the rooibos base. I let this last cup steep for quite a long time (upwards of fifteen minutes) and it was very chocolatey without a super woodsy base.